Politics Beat Blog

Stanton Reported In Line to be U.S. Attorney

Stanton (center) with father and well-wisher during 2006 congressional campaign

A national publication which caters to the legal sector has published a report on Tuesday seeming to confirm what has long been expected - that President Obama will shortly name FedEx attorney Ed Stanton III as the next U.S. Attorney for Tennessee's Western District.

Writing in the online publication Main Justice, reporter Andrew Ramonas says this about the prospectively pending appointment: “Edward L. Stanton III, a senior counsel with FedEx's commercial litigation team, is going through a FBI background check….The background check is typically the last step for a U.S. Attorney candidate before nomination.”

Ramonas attributes the information to “an individual with knowledge of the nomination process.” The unidentified source had previously identified Nashville lawyer Jerry Martin, also underdoing a background check, as the likely appointee for U.S. Attorney in Middle Tennessee.

Stanton, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in the 9th District in 2006, has previously offered “no comment” to widespread rumors that he was in line for the appointment.

Members of the Tennessee congressional delegation have so far declined to confirm or deny identities of likely appointees.

A majority of U.S. Attorney’s positions in the nation remain unfilled, more than a year after President Obama took office — a fact contrasting with the relative alacrity with which presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush made their appointments.